Bills Beat Blog

Bills may not even have chance to draft Lewan

Every single day leading up to the NFL Draft will bring about more and more rumors, and one report that was publicized on Wednesday involves a player that the Buffalo Bills have been linked to.

The Bills have long been considered to be in the market for taking an offensive tackle at ninth overall, and the common thought has been that the only player of the top three that will be available is Michigan's Taylor Lewan. Perhaps that prevailing thought could be a bit of an oversight.

Take a look at this new nugget of draft information, courtesy of Jerry McDonald of The Oakland Tribune:

The Raiders draft fifth overall in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Both Auburn's Greg Robinson and Texas A&M's Jake Matthews were thought to be the top two tackles available.

The possible effect it could have on the Bills is obvious. If the Raiders are so inclined to take an offensive tackle, it's likely that Taylor Lewan would be available at fifth overall. With Robinson likely to be gone within the top four of the draft, the only hope the Bills would have for landing one of the top three would be for Jake Matthews, but Atlanta at sixth overall is another tackle-needy team.

With this bit of news, there exists a possibility --perhaps a slim one-- that all three of the top offensive tackles could be off the board before Buffalo is on the clock. McDonald's report does not say the Raiders are targeting a tackle, though. Considering this, Oakland also hasn't addressed the quarterback position with a first round pick since JaMarcus Russell. They could be on the board at fifth overall with their pick of the litter for quarterbacks.

However, if Oakland decides on Lewan, that could remove any temptation that the Bills would have for taking a right tackle with the ninth overall pick, and instead opting for a pass-catcher (Eric Ebron, Mike Evans, Odell Beckham, Jr.), defensive end, linebacker or, perhaps the wildcard, a cornerback.